An Improved Row Seeder for Seeding Granular Seeds THE SEEDER

Direct seeding by free broadcasting of paddy seed is adopted by many paddy farmers because of the inadequate and expensive labour cost in

transplanting. Currently, manual and mechanical free broadcasting of pre-germinated seeds under puddle soil is a common practice. Free

broadcasting seeding has caused many field management problems such as inefficient nutrient application, and ineffective weed, pest and

disease control especially weedy paddy and golden apple snail. Failure to effectively control weeds in broadcasted crop can result in a yield

loss of 10% to 85%. Manual weed control is effective but difficult to implement in broadcasted crops due to problems in field accessibility and

weed identification at early stages of crop growth. This practice is also very labour intensive. Herbicides have been used but it has difficulties

especially during the post-establishment phase of crop growth.

To overcome the problems of free broadcasting, seeding pre-germinated seeds in rows onto a field has been introduced. The advantage

includes good seed germination, early weed control, accessibility, easy application for pesticides, herbicides and nutrients, and is more

uniform. Moreover, there is less plant competition resulting in healthier plants than using free broadcasting, and it also allows early detection for

intervention of golden apple snails. These practices can result in a higher crop yield than wetland free broadcasting.

However, current tractor-mounted seed drilling row machines are not suitable under puddle soil conditions as they are designated for dry land

operation. Manually pulled row seeders are very slow and causes drudgery of pulling the seeder in wet and sticky fields. Therefore, there is a

need to provide a row seeder that best operates at large field areas on wetland. Researchers at Malaysian Agricultural Research and

Development Institute (MARDI) have come up with a row seeder capable of operation on wetland, which is mounted on a motorised vehicle so

that it will be a lot easier to operate for vast fields with high outputs. The row seeder of the present invention is also provided with a sensor for

detecting blockage in the nozzle so that when there is a blockage, the device will be attended to immediately to reduce the need for replanting.

It is also provided with an auxiliary sprayer for simultaneously spraying water, herbicides, fertiliser or even pesticides. Besides, seeds are

consistently seeded firmly in rows on the wet soil surface.

• This breakthrough in rice cultivation, which

includes paddy seeding, is needed to

increase labour, land, cost and return

efficiencies

• The current invention is applicable to seed

growers, farmers, estate owners and

custom operators. It is capable of

increasing work rate by 48% per ha, and

can save costs by RM70.00 per ha

• A major seed producer in MADA has

requested a row-seeding machine. There

are also very encouraging responses from

China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and

Thailand

A row seeder for seeding granular seeds such as paddy or the like has been filed for a Malaysian patent.

www.platcomventures.com

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

WHAT’S NEXT?

The inventors would like to speak to companies interested in licensing the technology.

E: info@platcomventures.com T: 03-8319 3116

PROJECT  CODE:P133  

CONTACT

THE OPPORTUNITY

• Level soil surfaces enable good

seed germination and weed

control.

• Light and excellent for wet, soft

and uneven paddy fields

• Save labour time and seed

inputs

• No more drudgery of work by

inland smoothing using power

tiller and walking in wet and soft

soil to spray chemicals using

knapsack sprayer, and no more

crop damages due to chemical

drift

• Better worker safety from

chemicals

• Enable large scale operations

• Easy operation and fast

assembly

• Low maintenance cost with

durable materials and few

moving parts

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

© 2014 PlaTCOM Ventures. All rights reserved.

!  Multi-purpose !  Increase Work rate by 48 % per ha !  Save cost by RM 70.00 per ha !  Excellent for MARDI MR220 CL1 & CL2

padi direct seeding !  No more crop damage due to OnDuty#TM

chemical drift !  Versatile – Light (~120kg), excellent for

wet, soft & uneven padi fields !  Fast assembly in 10 mins !  Easy operation !  Low maintenance cost with durable

materials and few moving parts !  Low machine investment cost

!  Multi-purpose !  Increase Work rate by 48 % per ha !  Save cost by RM 70.00 per ha !  Excellent for MARDI MR220 CL1 & CL2

padi direct seeding !  No more crop damage due to OnDuty#TM

chemical drift !  Versatile – Light (~120kg), excellent for

wet, soft & uneven padi fields !  Fast assembly in 10 mins !  Easy operation !  Low maintenance cost with durable

materials and few moving parts !  Low machine investment cost